10-Jul-2006
- One of Somerset’s most popular summer festivals
is about to become even more environmentally friendly
after receiving help and advice from the Environment
Agency.
The Big Green Gathering, held
on the top of the Mendip Hills near Cheddar, is
second only to the Glastonbury Festival in terms
of size and visitor numbers. This year the organisers
are expecting around 20,000 festival-goers to
the five-day environmental extravaganza.
Featuring a kaleidoscope of
events including music and performing arts, renewable
energy displays, green businesses, alternative
medicine, sustainable housing, markets and stalls,
the Festival is variously described as ‘a celebration
of the natural world’ to ‘the best place on earth
to enjoy music in a tent under the stars.’
For the third year running the
Environment Agency is working with organisers
to ensure the 200-acre festival site remains unspoilt
and that any environmental impact is kept to a
minimum in keeping with the ethos of the event.
Agency officers are working
closely with Mendip District Council which this
year, for the first time, has licensed the Festival
and is liaising with emergency services to ensure
the welfare of festival goers as well as protecting
the environment.
The Big Green Gathering, which
runs from August 2 – 6, is being held in a sensitive
groundwater area so it is vital local water resources
remain unpolluted. Environmental friendly measures
being introduced include :
The use of on site storage tanks
so sewage can be safely stored, reducing the risk
of pollution and the number of vehicle journeys
to move sewage waste off site during the festival.
All recycleable materials will be put straight
into collection bins and taken off site for recycling
A small composting operation will be set up to
keep the amount of waste taken from the site to
a minimum
Generators will be powered by green fuels where
possible
‘We have a good working relationship with the
organisers of this very popular festival. Through
careful planning we hope that, once again, the
festival is a success and that the environment
including important groundwater supplies are safeguarded,’
said Lucy Bennett for the Environment Agency.
In addition to music,
workshops and other attractions the organisers
have chosen ‘Energy’ as the major theme of this
year’s event.
Mike Dunning
